Unloading machine



Oct. 251928 1,686,088

- F. w. HORSTKOTTE UNLOADING MACHINE Filed Oct. 12. 1927" 4 shetysneex 1 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 gr-vents! UNLOIAD'ING MACHINE Filed Oct. 12, 192'! F. W. HORSTKOTTE Oct; 2,1928.

Oct. 2, 1928. 686,088.

F. W. HORSTKOTTE UNLOADING MACHINE I v Filed 00t .-12,- 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Attorney Inventor Oct. 2, 1928. 1,686,088

' F. W. HORSTKOTTE UNLOADING MACHINE Filgd Oct. 12. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented a. 2,1928. I

" UNITED STAT QFFl/ rnmmmcx w. nonsrxo'rrn, or ronrmnn, cannon;

untonnme reactants.

Application filed October 12, 1927. Serial No. 225,740.

, My present invention relates to an improved unloading machine for stacks or piles of lumber, which, while adapted for various uses in connection with different materials,

is specially designed for unloading boards or..

lumber, in stacks or piles, preparatory to being fed to a planing mill. In carrying" out I my invention 1 utilize an elevator or hoist upon which the stack or pile of lumber is supported by means of a tiltable chute from which the material islater-ally discharged and then conveyed, as by endless chain vconveyers' to a roll-conveyer and the latter conveyer feeds the material while in horizontal position in a longitudinal direction to the planing mill;

In the present practice of feeding lumber to the planing mill the lumberis conveyed to the mill in wagons, lumber buggies, carriers, yard cars, cranes, and other means and. deposited alongside the feed table (employing a roll conveyer) upon which the lumber is placed, a board at a time. Where a crane is employed the lumber, in loads, is moved successively, and stored on a set of live'or dead rolls which lead to the feed table, and when" one load is finished another load is moved to place. When buggies or yard cars are used, after the load has been removed, the

empty vehiclemust'be replaced with a loaded one. These various means of conveying the .material to the feed table result in much less of time and intermittent operations. By the utilization of the machineof my invention,

the material may be continuously fed or con- I veyed to the conveyer" table of the planing mill, and the movement ofthe material regulated inorder that time and labor may be,-

saved and the .eific iency of the machine enhanced. V 4

My invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts as will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed. In the accompanying drawingsfl have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of my invention wherein the parts are combinedand arranged according to the best mode I have thus far devised. for the practical application of the principles of my invention.

' Figure 1 is a top plan view of the machine of in'y invention showing it in operative re lation to the 'feedttable or roll-conveyer, and,

illustrating various lengths of boards or lum her that may be handled by the machine.

Figure 2 1s aview insideelevation of the machine. showing by dotted lines the tiltable of boards to the chain conv'eyers and thence to the feed table-or roll-conveyers.

- Figure 3'is an end view showing the elevator separated from the machine and il1us-"' platform in tilted position to feed the layers over which the boards B are moved longitudinally to the planing machine.

In Figure 1 a number of lengths of. boards or timbers B are shown illustrating how various sizes of material may befed over the endless chains 3, 4, and 5 that are driven from sprocket wheels 6 on the operating shaft 7, and the latter. is operated from a drive shaft 8 through a bevel-gear couple 9. These con-' veyer chains are supported in a suitable frame 10 at one side of the feed table 1 and between said table and the mechanism of my invention that'includes' an elevator 11 and a tiltable platform 12'carried'thereon,

- -The elevator is vertically reciprocable in the main hoist-frame 13, supported inpiers 14, below the floor line 15, and the boards in stacks or pilesSarebroughtto the main frame -over rolls 16 forming a roll-conveyer on the frame 17. As seen in Figure 1 the rolls16 and the feed rolls 2 form parts of parallel conveyers, the rolls 16 being the 'conveyer for the stacks or loads S and the rolls 2 being the single boards to the planing it used to feed machine, v v v v The. elevato'rll comprises a rectangular frame-that normally'rests'uponthe upright posts 18 forming part of the frame 13, and,

.it is elevated by means of cables 19 and drums 20 on the shaft 21 that is operated from the motor 22 through belt 23 and pulleys 24 and 25 in Figure 2; v

cated at suitable points for the purpose and over the upper pulleys 27 that are jour'n'aled.

The cables passaround guide pulleys 26 10-" in be arings on the guide posts '28 forming part of the main frame 13.

- The guide cally arran e transverse am of the elevator frame are I provided with guide brackets 29 and 30 at I nel beams or uprights of the posts to guide their respective ends. The cables are attached to these guide brackets, and the brackets move vertically between the spaced chanthe elevator and retain it against displacement.

postsfor itsbrackcts are so arranged as not to interfere with the movement of a stack or pile of lumber as it is conveyed over the rollers 16\to position above the elevator and its tiltable chute; 12 where the load may be trans- ;ferred from the elevator. j v

The tiltable chute 12 includes three or more spaced beams '31 in the upper faces of which and theax'es of the rollersbeing journaled transversely-of the chute beams, 31. The {chute beams are provided with strutframes 3.3 beneath them and each strut-frame is I hinged or pivoted at 34 on the top face of the elevator frame, the pivot locatedat one side of the longitudinal center of the tiltable plat-form or-chutes in order that the chutes maybe tilted by the stack S placed thereon.

I [On the top of the s bstructure oi the-'main frame 13 are provi two I-beams 35, 35,

- arranged in parallelism, spacedat the sides of'the pivot 34 and extending parallel the axis ofthe pivot, to support the, tiltable chute 12 before and during the time its load l from the guide bracest37v and this freed layer or stack is being conveyed thereto.

Itwill be noted that the elevator is pro- vided with rollers 36 journaled inbearings thereon, which rollers roll in contact with the; innerfaces of thespaced channel beams of the I several guide posts as the elevator moves vertically. Thus the elevator, when in lowered posit on, is retained in horizontal position by means ofthese rollers'in contact with thegnide posts and the weightof the frame on the su porting posts 18, while the weight zf the t' table chute, when the latter is in horizontal position, is borne by the two cross supports or =I-beams 35. a

The tops of the conveyer rollers 16 and'the tops of the chute-beams 31 are so related that after the stack has been deposited on the rollfers above-the tiltable chute, when the latter is lifted with the elevator, the weight oftlie sack'is transferred froln'the rollers to the.

chute, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2. As the tiltable chute is lifted to receive the load of the stack, the chute is also lifted-from its stationary s'upports'or cross bars 35, and as p the pivot or-hinge joint 34Tof the chute is located at one 'si e of the longitudinal axis.

;or center of the load on the chute, the latter, with its stack, automatically tilts over to the (posts 28 are made up ofverti ,spaced, channel plates and the The name ofthe elevator and the guide-- conveyer to the chute of the right in Figure 2 asthe chute and stack are elevated.

As the stack tilts over to the right, itsright .their upper and lower ends to the main frame of the machine, and as the tiltable chute rises it continues its tilting movement as the stack travels upwardly. with its right face in contact with these guide braces 37 as indicated in Figure At the upper ends of the diag-' onal guide braces is fixed a discharge plate -38 extending parallel with the lengths of the lumber or boards in the stack, with one edge projecting over the ends of the endless conveyer chains3, 4, and 5'. v The inclination of the guide braces 37 A is such that the layers of boards on the stack, if not retained, would slip or slide to the right in Figure-2. Therefore, as, the stack and'tilted chute rise with the elevator, the, attendant 22, control themovement of these parts in such manner that the uppermost layer of boards mayslip or. slide down to the right as in Figure 2, while the remaining layers of the stack are retained by the braces or guidebraces 37.

As' indicated in Figure 2 the uppermost layer of boards slides out to the right over stack to the conveyer chains, the elevator is raised another step to free a successive layer then; slides out and across the discharge plate to the endless chains. In this manner the operator or attendant controls the ma chine in such manner; that the boards, singly,

are delivered or deposited in quick succession 'on the receive ends of the conveyer chains and these chains convey the boards and decontrolling the elevator through the motor posit them on the rollers 2 of the roller-con ve er.

one stack has been discharged to the conveyer chains the elevator is lowered, car rying with it the tilted chute and the latter is righted to level or horizontal position whenitv descends with the elevator and contacts with the cross bars or supports 35, 35 there- I for. As soon as the chute is in proper posi-.

tion another stack of lumber is run onto the. chute, the latter is lifted with the elevator, and successive layers of boards are dis charged as described.

Havin thus fully described my invention,

what I c aim as new and desire to secure by 125.

Letters Patent is:--

1. The combination with a vertically movable elevator and a---tiltable chute thereon I adapted to receive aplurality of layers.v A mategial, ofmeans for retainin m n discharge stack and means for permittingidischarge of the uppermost layer of the stac 2. The combination with a tiltable chute and means for elevating it, of guide braces for a stack or plurality of layers of material on the chute, whereby the stack may be bodily tilted and the uppermost layer successively discharged from the stack. 7

3. The combination with a main frame, an elevator, and operating means for the ele-. vator, of a tiltable frame forming a chute on the elevator. and adapted to support a stack of lumber in layers, and diagonally disposed guide-braces fixed to the frame for retaining the tilted stack and permitting therefrom of the uppermost layer of lumber.

4. The combination with a mainframe havin cross bars thereon, an elevator and operating means therefor, of a. tiltable chute having an ofi-center hinge, said chute being adapted to rest upon said cross bars when in inoperative position, posed guide-braces adapted to receive the weight of the stack on the chute as the latter iE lifted with the elevator.

5. The combination in an unloading machine with a longitudinally extending conveyer, of an elevator and an automat cally tiltable chute on said elevator adapted to chute adapted to and diagonally dis receive astack of lumber from the conveyer, means for o crating the elevator and stationar gui e-braces for the tilted stack where y successive layers of lumber may be discharged from the top of the stack.

6. The combination with a conveyor adapt ed to move a stack of In her in a longitudinal direction, of an elevator and an automatically tiltable chute thereon adapted to receive the stack of lumber, means for operating the elevator and stationary guide-braces for the tilted stack whereby successive top layers of lumber may be dischargedfrom the stack, and a discharge-plate at the upper ends of said guide-braces.

7.v The combination with a longitudinally extending conveyer for a stack of lumber, of an elevator and an automatically tiltable receive the stack from the conveyer, means for operating the elevator, stationary guide-braces for the tilted stack and a discharge plate at the upper ends of said braces whereby successive top layers of the stack are discharged over said plate, and

F. W. HORSTKOTTE. 

